Campaign of the Month:
August 2010

The Melekar Chronicles

A Cold Welcome

3

DEC/10

Eleasis the 22nd – Elaint the 14th

Setting out from Libilas, Ember teleported the party to Fallcrest to begin their journey to Eridell, the seat of the Kingpriest. It was a long ride, as they had become accustomed to instant travel, but since Ember had never been there, they must ride. Not knowing where to look, the party decided they’d first head to the capital and find out where Jethro was stationed.

After nearly a span of riding, they finally arrived in the town. It wasn’t quite what they expected. Sure, the city was grand beyond imagining, shining white and pristine, but it was also… cold. There was a lifelessness about the town that they just couldn’t put their fingers on. Entering the town, they were stopped at the gates by two guards dressed in the livery of Bahamut, with his symbol dangling about their necks. Seeing Bahamut’s symbol emblazoned upon Alecar’s armor though, they were quick to allow the party entry, offering only a warning to keep his less savory appearing companions in check, for their own safety.

Walking the town’s streets, the party was able to see what was giving them that empty feeling. The streets were nearly empty, devoid of people, animals, and even filth. Never had they seen such an… austere city. There were no vendors, no beggars, no street performers. That’s not to say that there was no one around, but the few that were, were obviously on their way to or from something. It being late, they decided that their first order of business was to find accommodations for the evening.

They found a nice looking inn near the center of town, and found that the interior was much like the rest of the city. There were people staying here, some of them even drinking an ale, but there was no music, no drunks, and no… fun. After settling on a room and getting some dinner, Alecar and Ember made a date of seeing the Grand Temple and the town, Solaren decided to see what the town had to offer to drink.

The date went off without a hitch, the white city beautiful under the moonlight. They even managed to speak to someone at the temple about where Jethro was stationed. A town to the south, called Edgerton. All in all, a wonderful night. Solaren’s plans however… I suppose one could say they were successful. By the time he got to his second inn, he was sufficiently knackered. By the fourth, he could barely walk. After his umpteenth Dwarven Fire Ale, a worried patron finally fetched the guards. They approached Solaren’s table, and were greeted with an empty mug, that shattered on the captain’s breastplate. He flung the table up at them, and bolted for the door. He may have been drunk, but his supernatural dexterity served him well.

He made it into the street, and turning the corner he bowled over another patrol of guards. Evading them as well, he managed to find his way to the sculpture gardens. For some reason, a statue of a majestic lion held a special place of contempt in his heart, and he managed to urinate on it before passing out at it’s feet. The last thing he remembered was that same captain looking down on him, before everything went black.

Now, Solaren sticks out every where he goes, so it was fairly common knowledge among the guards that he came into town with the foreign cleric of Bahamut. The following morning, when Solaren didn’t return, the other two began to get worried. Their worry was only compounded when a guard entered the inn. Scanning the room, he saw Alecar and immediately approached their table.
“I think you should come with me, we have your friend in custody for crimes against the state,” he turned and left without even waiting for them to respond. Hurrying out of the inn, they followed the guard captain to the jail. Upon their arrival, the captain launched into a tirade about Solaren’s actions the night before. “His public drunkenness could be punished with mere banishment from the land, but,” and the captain removed his helmet, revealing a long gash over his right eye and ear, “I’m afraid assaulting a member of the guard is a capital offense.”

No amount of pleading was able to get the captain to change his mind or lessen the sentence, for which there was to be no trial, the word of several guards was good enough. It was made clear that the fact that Alecar was a follower of Bahamut was the only reason he wasn’t in trouble for bringing this element to the city. Looking for any way to save Solaren, Alecar and Ember made for the Grand Temple, to attempt to gain an audience with Lord Captain Josseth Crownblade.

Arriving at the temple, they were greeted by the same aide that helped them the night before. He was almost sympathetic, but warned them that Crownblade wasn’t taking visitors lately. He’d try though. Coming back a while later he told them what he had feared, their request was denied. With only one recourse to prevent this abuse of the law, Ember and Alecar began to consider their strategy for freeing Solaren. Getting horses and supplies ready, outside of town, Alecar awaited their arrival. Ember entered the jailhouse invisible, but the cleric guards weren’t fooled. One of them noticed the opening of the door and cast a see invisibility spell.

Going to plan B, Ember shattered the locks to the cells, put a wall of fire between her and the guards, and teleported with Solaren to where they agreed to meet. It took her a couple of tries, but she made it eventually. They immediately set out for Edgerton, Ember using a combination of fly and teleport to shorten their travel time to only several minutes, hoping to arrive several days before the news arrives that they are enemies of the state.